


Wheels of the Mind

by chaemera



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Arcanima, Carbuncle Shenanigans, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Magic and Science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28030026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaemera/pseuds/chaemera
Summary: This is what happens when you leave creatures composed of codified energy fields in the care of a theoretical savant who put all her points into INT and none in WIS.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	Wheels of the Mind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DT Maxwell (Draya)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draya/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Quantum Shenanigans](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25827763) by [DT Maxwell (Draya)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draya/pseuds/DT%20Maxwell). 



Roksana sailed through the air in a lazy, high arc, giggling madly the whole way until she abruptly popped out of existence. Not even a breath later, the baby carbuncle plopped into place beside her sister in the little Miqo'te arcanist's lap.

_Again! Again!_

"It's your sister's turn, silly," A'khebica giggled, echoed by an affronted squeak from Amandina, the black-pearl carbuncle pawing at her pale sister and pouting.

_Oh, right!_

As Khebi hefted the black carbuncle of the pair, the enormous topaz carbuncle acting as her backrest yawned and stretched his front legs out, toes splaying, getting ready to settle in for a good, solid nap. Tyr usually got drafted into supervising whenever the twins were left in Khebi's care these days, not that he really minded. Most of the time the worst he had to deal with was the little arcanist enthusiastically kneading his face while chattering at high speed about whatever chunk of reality she was attempting to chew holes in this week, which he was well equipped to handle (usually by licking her nose). More often he got to watch in amusement as Khebi ran around with the twins held overhead making whooshing noises or the like. Or, today's exercise, using the fact the twins could only be separated by so much distance before they 'blinked' back together again to fling them along otherwise dangerous trajectories.

Luckily for the twins' mama's heart, Khebi was always very careful to launch them at a proper angle to make sure they hit their distance limit before the floor. She was a good girl, if a bit squirrely.

"You know, I just had a thought."

Oh no.

Tyr cracked open an eye to regard Khebi sidelong, as she sat with the twins cradled in her lap, thoughtfully stroking their ears to their contented bliss.

"There's obviously some sort of tension effect between you two, I wonder if we could harness it somehow."

 _Harness?_ the twins chorused curiously.

"Like, you've seen water-wheels, right?"

_Yeah!_

"Basically, there's some sort of force that pulls you two back together. Theoretically, I could design a 'wheel' that it could push on."

Getting to her feet and stuffing the pair of babies into the front of her tunic (this wasn't nearly as upsetting to them as one might expect, mostly involving some jostling to get their chins over her neckline), the Miqo'te bustled over to a workbench and started rummaging through various odds and ends as Tyr regarded the entire situation with suspicion. Khebi's own carbuncle was perched on the same workbench, apparently content to passively watch the goings-on, but you never knew what was going on in _that_ one's head...

"Here we go! Amandina, you hold this," and Khebi handed the black carbuncle a shard of crystal, "and Roksana, you scoot out to your maximum range, but don't blink back. If I'm right, the tension between you two should generate some degree of aetheric buildup. 'Kay?"

_'Kay!_

While Amandina studiously clutched the bit of crystal in her forepaws, her pale sister bounced down to the floor and took off at a trot towards the other side of the lab, before plunking her haunches down and looking back towards Khebi and Amandina. Tyr, watching the entire arrangement with deepening concern, spotted a brief glimmer of aether crackle through the crystal in the black carbuncle's grip. It was weak and intermittent, but it was there.

"Yay!" and the experiment was thrown to disarray as Khebi proceeded to start dancing around the lab with Amandina held overhead and Roksana bouncing around her feet, all three of them squeaking merrily.

"Now to design the turbine apparatus!"

Oh **no**.

Thus it was that Synnove burst into A'khebica's lab to find Tyr loafing grumpily atop the little arcanist, who was protesting vehemently that Tyr was being very mean, while the infant twins bounced around atop him in a chorus of 'meanie', 'no fun', 'party pooper', and similar vitriol.


End file.
